Prediction and Preview : RB Leipzig vs. Liverpool
Liverpool return to play this week with another friendly against an outstanding RB Leipzig team at the Red Bull Arena on Thursday. Both sides have quality players on their rosters and will be keen to win this game before the start of their respective domestic seasons.
This season, the Reds must settle a score. It is not the first time they have been beaten by archrivals Manchester City by a whisker. They will be keen to get into the flow right away, which is bad news for Leipzig.
Christopher Nkunku was courted by numerous European teams after scoring and setting up goals for fun last season, but finally chose to prolong his contract with Leipzig, who have been very quiet in terms of incomings thus far.
Xaver Schlager is the club’s most expensive signing so far, entering from Wolfsburg for €12 million (£10.2 million), while Hwang Hee-chan and Tyler Adams have both departed on permanent agreements to join Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leeds United, respectively, in the Premier League.
Konrad Laimer and Brian Brobbey appear to be the next players to go, with reports linking them to transfers to Bayern Munich and Ajax, respectively, although the two were able to contribute to Tedesco’s men’s recent friendly triumph against Southampton.
Die Roten Bullen won 3-1 thanks to goals from Angelino, Emil Forsberg, and Ilaix Moriba, as well as an Adam Armstrong consolation. Die Roten Bullen finish their pre-season against Liverpool before competing in the German Super Cup against Bayern Munich on July 30.
The additions of Darwin Nunez, Calvin Ramsay, and Fabio Carvalho at Anfield have been announced, with Klopp stressing that a new midfielder is not a priority for the current season, so Reds supporters hoping for additional arrivals this summer need not hold their breath.
Leipzig and Liverpool previously played in the last-16 of the 2020-21 Champions League, with the Reds advancing to the quarter-finals with a 4-0 aggregate victory, with Salah and Sadio Mane – likely to be a familiar rival of Die Roten Bullen – both scoring two goals each.
Team Updates
Tedesco expects to be working without much-coveted defender Josko Gvardiol until the start of the Bundesliga season owing to a thigh ailment for which he just underwent surgery.
Yussuf Poulsen is also on the mend after suffering a muscle injury with Denmark, and Ademola Lookman has emerged as a doubt after sustaining an ankle injury in training last week.
Tedesco will utilise his whole squad this week, but a solid starting XI should see Peter Gulacsi in goal against his former side, while Alexander Sorloth will lead the line in Poulsen’s absence.
Similarly, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is dealing with a few niggles at the moment, and there are suspicions that Diogo Jota has suffered a recurrence of a prior hamstring injury experienced while on duty with Portugal.
Alisson Becker will also be unavailable for Thursday’s encounter owing to an abdominal problem, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain suffered yet another muscle ailment in last week’s triumph against Palace.
Joe Gomez was held out as a precaution but has since returned to training, and Kaide Gordon, Caoimhin Kelleher, and Ramsay are all unlikely to be tried just yet.
Mohamed Salah might be among those pushed back into the starting lineup as Liverpool prepares for the new season, with Adrian back in goal.
Liverpool’s probable starting lineup: Henderson, Thiago, Salah, Nunez, Diaz , Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas, ElliottAdrian, Alexander-Arnold
RB Leipzig probable starting lineup: Mukiele, Haidara, Kampl, Simakan, Orban, Halstenberg, Forsberg, Sorloth, Gulacsi, Klostermann, Nkunku
Prediction and Analysis for RB Leipzig vs. Liverpool
The Red Bulls had lost five of their previous eight games, and they had only one clean sheet in their previous six games.
Liverpool, on the other side, has only lost twice in the last four months, with one of those defeats coming against Real Madrid. They’ve been finding the back of the goal frequently along the way, and they’ve also put in strong performances on the road.
Pre-season friendly are often tough to predict, but goals should be on the menu at the Red Bull Arena as Tedesco and Klopp tinker with their great offensive options.
Most significantly, they have a dominating head-to-head record versus this opponent.
From the looks of it, Liverpool will win.
We say: RB Leipzig 1-4 Liverpool
